Action Research in the Sri Lankan Education SystemSri Lankan Education System : A Historical Perspective

Author(s):  
Godwin Kodituwakku
Author(s):  
Charlene Tan

This article challenges the dominant notion of the ‘high-performing education system’ and offers an alternative interpretation from a Daoist perspective. The paper highlights two salient characteristics of such a system: its ability to outperform other education systems in international large-scale assessments; and its status as a positive or negative ‘reference society’. It is contended that external standards are applied and imposed on educational systems across the globe, judging a system to be high- or low- performing, and consequently worthy of emulation or deserving of criticism. Three cardinal Daoist principles that are drawn from the Zhuangzi are expounded: a rejection of an external and oppressive dao (way); the emptying of one’s heart-mind; and an ethics of difference. A major implication is a celebration of a plurality of high performers and reference societies, each unique in its own dao but converging on mutual learning and appreciation.


Author(s):  
T.M.A. Tennakoon ◽  
Kennedy Gunawardena ◽  
S.P. Premaratne

This study through an exploratory approach review the challenges and constraints faced in enhancing entrepreneurship education in developing countries using Sri Lanka as a case study. Previous studies on the subject matter is very scarce and even in international journals only few papers appeared on entrepreneurship education in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to study the current entrepreneurship education system in Sri Lankan state universities with reference to challenges and constraints and to propose an action plan to raise entrepreneurship education in Sri Lanka to be in par with that of developed nations so that these universities can act as the centerpieces of business innovations and entrepreneurship development. This paper employs an exploratory study approach by analyzing current entrepreneurship education system in Sri Lanka by reviewing secondary data such as various journals and government publications to build the arguments and recommendations outlined. Among constraints and challenges for the development of entrepreneurship education, lack of resources, lack of entrepreneurial skills in lecturers, poor stake-holder engagement, weak government policies and industry � university gap are common to most developing countries. In addition with its free education policy, Sri Lankan universities are faced with strict university entrance procedures and lack of selection of desired courses for majority of students. Findings of this study and salient suggestions will be an invaluable toolkit for policy makers to design effective strategies for entrepreneurship education in developing countries.


Author(s):  
Maria Chalari ◽  
Thomas Georgas

This paper critically reviews discourses of Greek national identity and the role of the Greek education system first in a historical perspective and then in the current climate of economic crisis in Greece. It also discusses the reason why teachers and schools are key to tackling growing discriminatory social attitudes. The preceding nationalistic discourse and the historical forms of nationhood and education in Greece might help us unravel the difficulties Greek national identity faces in the current era of economic and humanitarian crisis and uncertainty with regard to the European Union project, its evolution, its struggles, the nature of its challenges and tensions, and the empowerment of its ethnocentric and racist sentiment.


2010 ◽  
pp. 327-334
Author(s):  
Ambrose Azeta ◽  
Charles K. Ayo ◽  
Aderemi Aaron Anthony Atayero ◽  
Nicholas Ikhu-Omoregbe

Voice-based web e-Education is a technology-supported learning paradigm that allows phone-access of learners to e-Learning web-based applications. These applications are designed mainly for the visually impaired. They are however lacking in attributes of adaptive and reusable learning objects, which are emerging requirements for applications in these domain. This paper presents a framework for developing intelligent voice-based applications in the context of e-Education. The framework presented supports intelligent components such as adaptation and recommendation services. A prototype Intelligent Voice-based E-Education System (iVEES) was developed and subjected to test by visually impaired users. A usability study was carried out using the International Standard Organization’s (ISO) 9241-11 specification to determine the level of effectiveness, efficiency and user satisfaction. Report of our findings shows that the application is of immense benefit, based on the system’s inherent capacity for taking autonomous decision that are capable of adapting to users’ requests.


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